Many systems have been proposed for rigidly fixing metal or ceramic materials to the alveolus of a human mandible or maxilla in an effort to provide a long term replacement for lost teeth. Early systems were successful for only limited periods of time and were eventually rejected as foreign bodies Later systems, as described by Sneer U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,011, Brainin U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,113, Taylor U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,828, Reuther et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,550, and Mozsary et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,679, have proven to offer long term success by providing rigid anchorage in the supporting bone. Intraoral restoration of such osseointegrated devices has been accomplished with many different systems that modified the original attempts. Such modifications have been described in Harras U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,080, Symington et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,003, and Gittlemen U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,510. However, these restorative systems have required biologic and aesthetic compromises. The interface between an implant and its surrounding gingival tissue is often insufficiently close to prevent food and bacteria from entering this area. Such foreign matter can cause chronic infection and bone loss, resulting in eventual loss of the implant. Implants in current use have a round root form dimensionally different from that of a normal tooth root morphology. This makes aesthetic restoration difficult and impedes the development of a natural soft gingival tissue contour.
There exists a need for a dental implant system providing an implant root and gingival tissue interface having an improved resistance to bacterial infection and providing a contour more nearly approximating that of a natural tooth and its surrounding tissue.